Record-breaking Curry too hot for Cavs

Seventy-two hours after LeBron James overpowered the Golden State Warriors from within arm's length of the rim, Stephen Curry sent the Cleveland Cavaliers a long-distance message on Sunday night.

Curry broke the NBA Finals record with nine 3-pointers, accounting for a majority of his game-high 33 points and leading the Warriors to a second successive win over the Cavaliers, 122-103.

The defending champions are up 2-0 in the series as they chase their third title in four years, but the scene in the best-of-seven now shifts to Cleveland for Games 3 and 4 on Wednesday and Friday, respectively.

"He was tremendous," Warriors coach Steve Kerr said of Curry, who led the team in scoring for the second game in a row after never having done so in last year's Finals against the Cavaliers.

"Nine (3-pointers) and seemed to hit the big shot every time we needed one. Yeah, he was fantastic."

James said Curry's ability to score almost has to be ignored if Cleveland want to win.

"Every shot that he takes that goes in, he has the business of making them," James said.

"That's what he does. So shouldn't be surprised or deflated at it. Take the ball out, move it forward, and try to execute on the other end."

Coming off a personal-best 51 points in a Game-1 loss, James led the Cavaliers on Sunday with 29 points, but he went more than 12 consecutive minutes in the first half without a field goal, during which Golden State took the lead for good.

The Warriors made their first seven shots in the game, and they sank 59.5 per cent from the floor while running up a 59-46 half-time advantage.

"You can't start the game like that," Cavaliers coach Tyronn Lue said of his team's defensive effort.

"I don't think we started the game like we needed to start. I think not being physical enough."

Curry's nine 3-pointers surpassed the single-game record of eight set by the Boston Celtics' Ray Allen in 2010.

"That's a pretty cool deal to accomplish, knowing who has held the record for, what is it, six, eight years?" Curry said.

"But at the end of the day, it's all about trying to get a win and doing whatever you can to make that happen."

Curry had three of his nine treys in the second quarter, during which the Warriors outscored the Cavaliers 27-18 to build a 13-point half-time cushion.

The Warriors switched defensive ace Draymond Green onto James to start the second quarter, and the ploy worked. James went from the 2:22 mark of the first quarter to the 2:16 mark of the second without a field goal.